Sonic Legacy
by Forgotten Muse
Summary: ARCHIVED


'Sonic Legacy'  
  
A Fanfic by T. 'RockChick' Evans  
  
I finally finished this thing. The idea for this has been in my head for quite a while- in fact, it was one of my original ideas for STC2. Latifah 27 got me thinking about the concept again, so I decided to sort it out once and for all. It turned out much better than I expected- although I'm still not entirely happy with chapter 7.  
  
For anyone interested in continuity, this fanfic is set in the Sonic the Comic universe, although it isn't an STC2 fanfic. In other words, in this story Sonic and Super Sonic never got separated for the second time, and Sonic Adventure 2 happened exactly as it did in the game. Robotnik was finally defeated some time after that, and Sonic and Amy got together at some point. (Whaddaya mean 'ugh', Sonic?! How do you know what's gonna happen in the future? … you asked Pyjamas? Oh.)  
  
Sonic Legacy is set in the future. Planet Mobius is totally at peace, and nothing has changed very much because the people are understandably wary of high technology. Sonic's grandkids are teenagers and Sonic himself is in his 70s. (Sorry Sonic, but having you as an old codger is kinda funny…. No, I was only kidding! Don't spin attack me! Aargh!)  
  
Whew, that was close! As I was about to say, any story works better with a nice rockin' soundtrack, and this is no exception! Bon Jovi's 'Keep the Faith' makes a great theme song. (And look out for the character with the Bon Jovi connection. No prizes for spotting it, sorry.)  
  
Thalia  
  
ThaliaRockChick@aol.com  
  
STC2- http://stc2.topcities.com  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter 1- Omens of Doom  
  
Morning on Planet Mobius. In an average-sized house in the city that was once called Emerald Hill, dawn light filtered into the upstairs bedroom. It shone on the posters of well-known rock bands on the walls and the guitar and amp in the corner. On a shelf, looking oddly out of place, was a plush toy Chao. Faint noise from the television downstairs didn't bother the room's occupant.  
  
"Reports are coming in of missing persons in the South Island area, and the mysterious robot sightings seem to be increasing in number…" The news announcer was saying. The fifteen-year-old hedgehog in the bed didn't care about that. Her immediate concerns were who was going out with who, and to a lesser extent, homework. At the moment, she was thinking about staying in bed as long as possible.  
  
Her grandparents, however, would have found the reports disturbingly familiar…  
  
Maria the hedgehog was only just old enough to remember her grandfather. She had had a few memories of the proud old hedgehog, with blue spines going grey around the edges. He had disappeared when she was four years old, never to be seen again… Grandma Amy had said he just couldn't handle the fact that he was getting old and slowing down.  
  
"Maria Hedgehog, get your lazy self out of bed this instant!" Maria groaned sleepily and rolled over, trying to block out the yell from downstairs. Her eyes flicked to the digital clock on the bedside table.  
  
"Quarter to nine??? Oh no!" She was gonna have to rush if she wanted to get to school on time. Leaping out of bed, the young hedgehog tripped on the covers and fell on her butt, before quickly pulling on her jeans, T- shirt and Soap trainers. She rushed down the landing as she struggled to get her gloves on.  
  
On the way to the bathroom, Maria stopped to glance into her twin brother's room. It was what could only be described as a chaotic mess, with clothes and rubbish all over the floor, an unmade bed and no sign of her brother Red anywhere. Her parents had given up trying to make him clean his room years ago.  
  
"Oh great, now I'm gonna have to put up with his teasing." Her brother was no doubt going to make fun of her for getting up late, as usual. That's what brothers were like, especially the hyperactive, out-of-control Red.  
  
Sighing, Maria tried to get rid of that just-got-out-of-bed look. The hedgehog looking back from the mirror had an athletic build, but was otherwise average looking, with waist- length brown quills. She had a blue streak running from the forehead back, which everyone thought was dyed but was actually natural. Her most striking feature, however, were her eyes- emerald green in colour and seeming to glow with some inner energy.  
  
Maria ran her hands through the spiny quiff that stood up on her forehead. "It'll do," she thought, and left the bathroom, leaping down the stairs two at a time. She grinned, thinking of her brother's tendency to grind down the banister. Maria had never been able to pull that one off-she was far too clumsy- and even if she had, she wouldn't have done it in the house. Her brother, however, didn't care about that sort of thing…  
  
"It lives!" Maria's mother cried from the breakfast table with mock surprise. "We thought you'd gone into hibernation up there."  
  
"Very funny Mum…" Maria groaned. She took after her mother, except that neither of Maria's parents had green eyes. Maria seemed to have got that from her grandparents. "Morning, Dad." The other hedgehog looked up from behind his newspaper and nodded. Everything seemed oddly peaceful, which could only mean one thing. "Hey, where's the mess-master?"  
  
"Oh you mean Red?" Said Maria's dad. "Who knows? You never know where you are with that boy."  
  
"Done his usual disappearing act, has he?" Maria sighed. Where Red was concerned, that usually meant trouble of an expensive nature. Her father just nodded and went back to his paper.  
  
"Have you seen this? People are disappearing all over the island." He said. Maria's mother peered over his shoulder at the newspaper.  
  
"Yes, terrible isn't it?" She replied, shaking her head. "My father would have known what to do. But we've been at peace for so long now, no one seems to know how to handle it…" The middle- aged hedgehog looked up at her daughter, and her brown eyes were serious and a little sad. "Maria, I never thought I'd have to ask you this. Your grandfather was Sonic the hedgehog, hero of Mobius. I didn't inherit his powers, but you and Red are different… If anything bad happens, you could be this world's only hope."  
  
"But, Mum. I don't have any powers, I'm just a normal schoolgirl. Besides, nothing's gonna happen. It's just some nutter stirring up trouble." Maria smiled, but her mother wasn't reassured. She seemed genuinely upset. Her father was also staring at her.  
  
"Robotnik was just 'some nutter stirring up trouble' too, Maria. Your mother is right, you have the power in you. We've always known that."  
  
"Promise me, Maria…" Her mother said.  
  
"Okay, okay, I promise." She answered, more to get away than anything. "Hey, I gotta go! Bye!" Maria rushed out, slamming the door behind her. She didn't notice the tear in her mother's eye.  
  
"My father said this is how it started." She said to her husband. "After all these years, it's starting all over again. And this time we don't have Sonic to protect us." Maria's father laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  
  
"It'll be alright. The people of Mobius won't make the same mistake twice." But in their hearts, both hedgehogs knew that wasn't true. And they knew who the Badniks would come for first.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter 2- A Spy in our Midst  
  
Thoughts raced through Maria's head as she ran to the Emerald Hill High School. She passed the old Control Tower, once the Freedom Fighters' headquarters and home, now a museum. She glanced at it as she passed by.  
  
"I'm not one of them. I'm not a Freedom Fighter, just a clumsy schoolkid. I'm trying to pass my GCSEs, not save the world! What could I do, anyway? Hidden powers indeed. I can't even do P.E without tripping over my own feet…if anyone in the family has powers, it's Red. And he's… well, crazy." At that moment, a loud blare of music broke her chain of thoughts as a shiny black hover-car convertible growled up alongside her. "Speak of the devil," She hissed as she glanced at the car's occupants.  
  
"Hey gorgeous, need a lift someplace?" Said the driver, a hedgehog of about eighteen, as he turned the radio down a little.  
  
"Not if it's from you, Blade." Maria snapped. "Hey Red, what're you doing hanging out with this jerk?" The blonde hedgehog in the back looked over at his sister, and the red eyes that gave him his name flashed defiantly.  
  
"What's it to you, Sis'?"  
  
"Nothing, I just thought you should be in school, instead of hanging around with a guy who's never set foot in the place." She glared at Blade, who replied with a grin.  
  
"I'm too cool for school, man." Blade checked his appearance in the rear- view mirror. Perfectly groomed black quills and red eyes. The ultimate handsome hedgehog, he thought.  
  
"Yeah but school is boring. I hate being bored." Red told Maria.  
  
"Well, you'd better go today. We got Chemistry."  
  
"Cool! Now- Chemistry, that's one subject that's not boring!" Was the reply. "Maybe I'll make something explode… heh heh." Red leaped- literally- out of the car, somersaulting in midair to land on his feet next to his sister.  
  
"Show off," Maria muttered. Red didn't seem to care.  
  
"Or I'll set one of Mr. Prower's tails on fire. That would be a laugh… yeah!" Both hedgehogs walked off in the direction of school. They didn't see Blade staring thoughtfully at them from behind the wheel. They didn't see him suddenly disappear in a flash of green light…  
  
* * * *  
  
Blade emerged from Chaotic Space outside the secret control room, the words 'Chaos Control' still hanging in the air. He paused a moment to ready himself before going in. Even a confident hedgehog like himself could be disturbed by what was in there…  
  
"BLADE!! GET IN HERE!" Came the dreaded voice from inside. The black hedgehog strode into the dark room, unable to resist the call of his master. He wanted to look away, but forced himself to keep his eyes fixed straight ahead. What greeted him was a grotesquely fat thing that might once have been human, but was now as much machine as it was organic. A tangle of tubes and wires kept the ancient body alive. Amid it all was a drooping grey moustache and a pair of evil red eyes. Robotnik had changed a lot, but he was still as maniacal as ever…  
  
"Report, my spy. What have you discovered about the Freedom Fighters?" Blade began to deliver his report.  
  
"As you suspected, those that remain are too old to bother you. Amy has retired, Miles Prower is teaching at a local school, and Porker Lewis and Tekno are running an electronics company in the Special Zone. As for Knuckles, Ebony and Pyjamas, I found no sign of them."  
  
"Never mind them. They're nothing to me! Tell me about Sonic." Blade paused. He had saved this news until last, and Robotnik was going to like it.  
  
"Sonic went missing many years ago. Presumed dead." As expected, Robotnik was ecstatic. His insane, uncontrollable laughter filled the room, echoing off the metallic walls. Blade turned away in disgust- seeing that thing laughing was more than anyone could take. Fortunately, Robotnik's laughter trailed away after a minute or two.  
  
"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" He asked suspiciously. Blade had been afraid of this. His mind had been conditioned to agree with Robotnik's plans- he was programmed to obey, but deep down he knew that what Robotnik was doing was wrong. But it was so hard to resist…  
  
"No… no, there's nothing else."  
  
"Don't lie to me, Blade. I created you. I know how you think. Besides, you know very well what happened to your predecessor…" Blade didn't know the exact circumstances of Shadow's death. All he knew was that the original Ultimate Lifeform had sided with Sonic, and died shortly afterwards. For a moment, Blade fought with Robotnik's programming. The brainwashing won.  
  
"Sonic had a family. His daughter didn't inherit his powers, but the grandchildren… they're practically humming with Chaos energy. Only they don't know it yet…"  
  
"There's more than one?" Robotnik tugged thoughtfully at his moustache. A hint of rage had crept into his features.  
  
"Yes… two of them. Twins. One takes after Super Sonic, the other is more like Sonic himself."  
  
"Hmmm…" The mad scientist paused for thought, servos whirring as he shifted his position. "We'll have to destroy them before they become a threat. I'll turn their home into a smoking crater! You know them, Blade. When do you think I'll be most likely to get them all?" Blade couldn't speak for a moment. His mind was racing, torn between loyalty to his creator and what is heart was telling him. Secretly he had hoped that Maria and Red would be able to stop Robotnik, once and for all. He couldn't allow Mobius' only hope to be bombed into oblivion. At the same time, he couldn't disobey his master.  
  
There was only one thing that Blade could do.  
  
Having made the hardest decision of his short life, Blade forced himself to look Robotnik in the eyes. As he spoke to Sonic's old archenemy, one thought dominated his tortured mind.  
  
"Maria… Red… please forgive me."  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter 3- History Repeats Itself  
  
"Detention! I can't believe I've got detention. All because of you." It was lunchtime at Emerald Hill High school. As it was a sunny day, chairs and tables had been set up in the school yard and everyone was enjoying the sunshine. Except Maria, who was having an argument with her brother. Red, true to his word, had decided to play a trick on one of their teachers, Mr. Prower- Tails to his friends- by setting one of the elderly fox's tails alight. And blamed it on his sister. Mr Prower, understandably, had not been a happy fox- muttering something about having respect for someone who had helped save the planet, he'd given them both detention. Now they'd be an hour late getting home.  
  
"Chill, sis'." Red was saying. "Just don't go. I never bother going to detention."  
  
"You never bother going to school!" Maria snapped back.  
  
"And proud of it." Red smirked, leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table. "As I said, school's boring."  
  
"Can't argue with that," said one of Maria's friends, a rabbit named Gina who lived next door to her. Another neighbour, Ivory the white cat, paused in cleaning his whiskers.  
  
"Yeah, but did you see 'Old Ginger's face when he realised his fur was on fire?' Ivory put on a serious face, and imitated Tails' voice almost perfectly. " 'Do you smell something burning in here? It smells like fur. Fur?? Oh no! Aargh!' " Everyone burst out laughing, as Ivory gave Red a high-five.  
  
"That's it, everyone take his side!" Maria exclaimed, unable to hide a smirk.  
  
The laughter faded away as another sound became audible. A high pitched, waspish whine- like insects, only more metallic. The source of the noise followed shortly afterwards- a cloud of metal, hornet- like shapes high overhead. They zoomed past and shot into the distance.  
  
"What was that?!" Gina exclaimed, her grey rabbit ears standing on end with fear.  
  
"I… I saw something like that in a history book once," Maria said. A feeling of dread was beginning to materialise. She remembered the news report from that morning.  
  
….Mysterious robot sightings increasing in number… reports of missing persons….  
  
Red summed up everyone's feelings with a single sentence. "I know what that was. Trouble."  
  
"Guys… those things, I think they were heading for our street," Ivory shivered, as several police cars screeched past, sirens wailing. An aura of doom seemed to surround the four animals as the importance of that statement began to sink in. They looked at each other for the briefest of seconds, then hurtled out of the playground, dreading what they might find.  
  
Miles 'Tails' Prower heard the ominous sound at the same moment that the four teenagers did. A little stiffly, he got out of his chair, and pushed his glasses further up his snout. The old fox squinted at the sky, and what he saw there made him feel suddenly cold. Memories flooded his brain and his twin tails began to twitch…  
  
"…It can't be…"  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter 4- Shattered World  
  
The quiet, suburban road was as peaceful as ever. Maria and Red couldn't see any visible damage, but Maria was the first to notice that something was wrong…  
  
"The doors… they're all wide open!" With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Maria noticed some police cars parked at odd angles. There was no sign of their occupants. "We need to check inside the houses. Where did Gina and Ivory go?"  
  
"I dunno," Red said, glancing over his shoulder. "They were right behind us. Guess we must have left them behind." Maria nodded, and squinted down the road.  
  
"Yeah, we were running pretty fast back there. I was just thinking of getting here as quickly as possible… Say, are you out of breath?"  
  
"No…"  
  
"Me neither. Weird, isn't it?"  
  
The two hedgehogs didn't think about it any longer, because they had more important things to worry about. Maria walked through the open door of her home, while Red checked out the house next door, where Gina lived. Maria could hear him calling the family's names, but receiving no answer. She was having equal success.  
  
"Mum… Dad?" If there was no damage outside, inside the house was a different story. It looked like someone had trashed the place- like in those films where the bad guys ransacked a house to find something… or someone.  
  
1.1 …Promise me, Maria…  
  
There was no sign of life anywhere. Not even the electricity worked. Everything upstairs was smashed, just like on the ground floor. Maria caught her reflection in the cracked mirror as she checked the bathroom- had that blue streak got a little wider?  
  
…you have the power in you…  
  
"Don't be stupid." Maria scolded herself. "I'm not some kind of hero. I'm not my grandfather!"  
  
…you could be this world's only hope…  
  
"No way! I just don't have what it takes!" As if to prove her point, a shelf somewhere collapsed- the noise sending Maria hurtling down the stairs and out the door. Cursing herself, Maria turned and looked at the building where she had lived her whole life. "I'm such a coward. Afraid to go into my own home…" No. it wasn't home anymore. Somewhere deep inside, Maria knew that.  
  
Fortunately, her moment of self-pity was brought to an end as Red emerged from the building next door. His grim expression told her that that house, too, was deserted.  
  
"Nobody home, Sis'. They musta been kidnapped or something…" He paused, looking past Maria into his family home. "Did you find…?" Maria shook her head no.  
  
Red reacted with a fury that was extreme even for him. "Whoever did this, they're gonna pay," He snarled, slamming a fist against the wall. " I'll get them, I'll…"  
  
"Red… hey, calm down…" Maria said quietly. Although she wouldn't admit it out loud, Maria thought her brother was a cool guy- he wasn't afraid of anything, but he did get so mad sometimes. At least Maria could control her anger, even if she was a wimp. She laid a hand on Red's shoulder to calm him, but he just threw it off.  
  
"Calm down?? Our parents have been kidnapped and you're telling me to CALM DOWN??!"  
  
"Oh my God, he's…glowing!" Red's quills had begun to brighten from blonde to yellow-gold. "Listen, we're gonna find out who did this, and…"  
  
"I don't care if they've got a damn army, I'll take 'em all on… huh?" Distracted, Red faded back to his normal colour as a dark shape stepped out of a nearby house.  
  
"I know who did this," Blade said. Red, seeing a target for his rage, launched himself at the black hedgehog and knocked him to the ground.  
  
"It was you, wasn't it? This is your fault!"  
  
"No, I… I… I mean yes. It's my fault…"  
  
"I thought so! And you were supposed to be my friend!" Red fumed, bringing his fist back to strike.  
  
"Red, no!" Maria screamed. "He knows what's going on here! Leave him alone!"  
  
"I… I guess you're right." Her brother finally calmed down a little, and allowed Blade to get to his feet.  
  
"Explain," Maria said coldly.  
  
"That would be a good idea," Another voice panted, as the weary Tails dropped into their midst. Flying wasn't as easy as it used to be, he thought. Ivory and Gina followed on foot.  
  
"I came as fast as I could, after seeing those badniks," Tails said, after getting his breath back. "Say, is that Shadow?" Tails took of his glasses, wiped them on one slightly singed tail and put them back on. "No, but you look just like him. Can you tell us what's going on here?" Tails gave his most disarming nice-guy smile. Blade sighed.  
  
"It's a long story…"  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter 5- Blade's Story  
  
"I'm not surprised you mistook me for Shadow, because in a way, I am. You could say I'm the mark 2 version. I'm not sure of the facts, but I know I was created by Ivo Robotnik…" At this point, Blade paused as Tails gasped in shock.  
  
"Robotnik's still alive?" The fox exclaimed. Red snarled.  
  
"Yeah…" Blade continued. "He's trying to take over the world, just like he did all those years ago. I was sent here as a spy to find out about the Freedom Fighters… and their families." Tails nodded.  
  
"That makes sense. Robotnik would have wanted to know about any possible resistance."  
  
"When he found out about you…" Blade indicated Maria and Red, "He wanted to destroy you. He asked me to tell him when would be the best time… and I… I said… to do it now."  
  
"WHAT??" Red yelled, on the verge of going crazy again: his friends and sister held him back. Blade winced and took a step back.  
  
"I… I'm sorry… but it was the only way. I couldn't turn on Robotnik…couldn't break through his programming. I had to make sure that you two survived somehow."  
  
"I think I understand now," Maria said, wiping the tears from her face. "You suggested a time when you knew we'd escape because we were in school."  
  
"That's right," the black hedgehog nodded. "And I said to him that there was no point killing your parents. I said… wouldn't it be more useful if they were turned into badniks. But it got out of hand, the badniks took everyone in the street…"  
  
"Robotnik never did things by halves," Tails sighed.  
  
"This guy helped Robotnik kidnap our families," Ivory bristled. "I agree with Red- Blade deserves to get his butt kicked." Ivory advanced on Blade, who hung his head and didn't even bother to defend himself. Tails, however, got in the way.  
  
"Hold it!" Tails yelled, in his best 'stern teacher' voice. "If I wasn't for Blade here, you'd probably all be dead by now. This isn't his fault, he did the best thing possible under the circumstances. Isn't that right?"  
  
"I guess so," Blade replied, a little uncertainly. "I thought that if your families were turned into badniks, then at least they'd be alive."  
  
"I suppose Tails is right," Maria agreed. She hadn't liked Blade since he had first shown up just under a year ago. But now he'd lost that cocky, arrogant attitude, she couldn't help feeling sorry for him. After all, Blade couldn't help what he was.  
  
"Thanks…" Blade murmured, relieved. "But I must go now… I'm a danger to all of you. Once Robotnik finds out that I've betrayed him, he's going to come for me…"  
  
"You know me too well, traitor…" A voice boomed from behind. The six animals turned to see about fifty badnik troopers materialise in the street. The first trooper had a screen in its chest, displaying the evil face of Ivo Robotnik.  
  
"Blade, you're an idiot," The screen said. "Did you think you could run away without me knowing about it?" An evil chuckle issued from the mad scientist. "Now you've led me right to your furry friends." Robotnik's eyes fixed on Tails. "Well, if it isn't the little fuzzball himself. I have to say, the years have treated me far better than they have you! How's life on the old-age pension?"  
  
"I'm not as weak as you think, lard belly," Tails said defiantly. The twinge of pain in his back said other wise.  
  
"Well, we'll see about that. Troopers, ATTACK!"  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter 6- Breakout  
  
The fifty or so troopers surged forward, blasting at everything in sight as Tails leaped into the fray.  
  
"I may be old but I still know how to smash a badnik!" He shouted. Maria and Red stood side by side, with Gina and Ivory just behind.  
  
"Tails is gonna get himself killed!" Gina gasped, horrified. "We have to help him!" The twin hedgehogs looked at each other, nodded, and leaped into battle…  
  
Standing in the shadows nearby, Blade was fighting his own battle.  
  
"Why can't I break free??" He groaned clutching his head. Robotnik's brainwashing didn't allow him to harm a badnik, whether he wanted to or not. Trying to fight it only resulted in severe pain. "They're gonna get slaughtered out there, and it's all my fault… I feel so useless!"  
  
Meanwhile, Tails whacked one trooper in the head with his tails, dodged another, and watched with satisfaction as its laser fire blew the first to pieces. Robotnik still hadn't invented a trooper that could shoot straight, he grinned.  
  
Tails paused for a second to catch his breath, but had to jump out of the way to avoid being stepped on by another badnik, which was backing away from Red's vicious punches.  
  
"The kid knows how to fight, I'm impressed," the fox said to himself "Of course, I've caught him doing it in school often enough…" But they were still badly outnumbered, as Tails proved when his leap took him into the path of another trooper…  
  
From his hiding place, Blade watched Tails thrown effortlessly down the street. He had to get out of the way to avoid being landed on, as Tails hit the ground with a dull thud.  
  
"Are you all right?" Asked the hedgehog, bending down next to him. Tails moaned weakly.  
  
"Sure, I… I'm a lot tougher than… some people think… uhhh…" Tails started to get up, but collapsed and passed out.  
  
"He's a real hero," Blade thought. "Tails knew he couldn't win, but tried anyway… not like me. I can't even help them." Getting to his feet, Blade felt his self pity turn to anger. "I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Lifeform, not Robotnik's puppet! I'm not gonna put up with it anymore!!" Something seemed to snap in Blade's mind. He had had enough. Furious at himself as much as Robotnik, he headed for the battlefield…  
  
Meanwhile, Maria was up to her neck in trouble. As she ducked under laser fire, she saw Tails hurled out of the area, and winced as she heard him land. Hoping her teacher was all right, she glanced around to see how her friends were doing.  
  
Gina the rabbit aimed a high kick at one trooper, succeeded only in bruising her toes, and jumped high into the air. Both feet came down on the trooper's helmet, and the badnik collapsed with a loud clang…  
  
Ivory the cat crouched, fur bristling, and chanted a spell that his great- aunt Ebony had taught him. A blinding ball of light distracted a trooper long enough for Red to knock its legs out from under it…  
  
As all this was going on, Maria was under fire from three different badniks. She dealt with the first two in the same way that Tails had- ducking at the last moment so that the humanoid robots blew each other up. The young hedgehog was surprised to find herself grinning at this. She actually felt a little weird- she had never been in a 'real' fight before, but now found herself fighting by pure instinct. It was as if she had tapped into an energy source she didn't know was there… looking over at Red, who had that yellow glow again, she suspected that he was feeling the same thing.  
  
"Maybe my parents were right about us…" Unfortunately, that thought was cut short by a large metal fist slamming into Maria's back. The third trooper, the one with the screen on its chest, looked down at her. Robotnik's voice issued from the screen…  
  
"Now what have we here? Time to exterminate this vermin." The trooper lowered its weapon. Even a clumsy badnik couldn't miss at this range. Maria closed her eyes and waited for the end…  
  
* * * *  
  
2 Chapter 7- The Strength Within  
  
…The end didn't come. Cautiously, Maria opened her eyes and saw that someone was between her and Robotnik.  
  
"Blade??" Robotnik seemed almost as surprised as Maria did. "What are you trying to do?! You know you can't attack my badniks."  
  
"Wrong, Robotnik." Proving his point, the hedgehog grabbed the badnik's gun and hurled it away. "You can't control me anymore."  
  
"Whaat??" Robotnik yelled. "But I created you!"  
  
"You know what, lard belly?" Blade snarled. "I…" He moved towards the trooper. "…don't…" Blade leaned closer, so his nose was almost touching the glass. "…CARE!!" The dark hedgehog smashed the screen with an elbow, and leaped into the air, landing a kick under the trooper's chin. The head went flying off. Maria got to her feet, utterly speechless.  
  
"Blade, that was cool!" Red grinned. The animals had found themselves in an empty clearing surrounded by troopers. "I don't know about you lot, but I'm up for some serious badnik bashing. Whadaya say?" Red was clearly enjoying himself. To her surprise, Maria found that she was, too. Unfortunately though, she noticed that a lot of the badnik troopers they had knocked down were getting back up again.  
  
"Uh oh, this is not good."  
  
"Oh no!" Ivory moaned. "There's too many of them! I don't think we can do this." For some reason, this made Maria furious. They couldn't give up now.  
  
"Hey, don't say that! We can take these guys out if we work together!"  
  
"Right!" Red agreed. "Let's rock 'n roll, gang!" Yet again, Maria, Red, Blade and the others attacked. This time, however there was a crackle of energy between Maria and Red. As they fought side by side, they felt themselves starting to change. Both felt a strange new energy flowing through them, and thought simultaneously- "I understand!!"  
  
It made sense now- Maria and Red were as closely linked as Sonic and Super Sonic. Red was chaotic and crazy but fearless in battle, while Maria was rational and in control. Together, they were an unstoppable force. Both were now moving at speeds in excess of mach 3 as if it was the simplest thing in the world.  
  
Red smashed badniks left, right and centre, while Maria directed the attack- keeping the other two hedgehogs, the rabbit and the cat in formation. Within minutes the last trooper had fallen onto the tarmac.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Now that," Red smirked, "Was fun.  
  
" Yeah, but will it be when we're doing that full-time?" Everyone seemed to be thinking. "Well, we're gonna have to, if we want to rescue our families." Red voiced the collective thought out loud.  
  
"Robotnik must be stopped," he said, having finally found a purpose for his fighting spirit. "We'll take over where our grandparents left off. We'll be the new Freedom Fighters!" He paused, looking at each animal in turn. "Who's with me?"  
  
"Robotnik kidnapped our families," Ivory said, "And he won't stop there. Count me in." Gina nodded assent.  
  
"Robotnik made my life hell." Blade snarled. "He'll pay for that. And I know how he thinks, so I can help you guys. I'm with you."  
  
"Are you sure we can do this?" Maria asked, the familiar doubt creeping in. "We're just a bunch of kids…"  
  
"Look at yourself and say that," Red interrupted. For the first time the two hedgehogs took a good look at each other. Red was now gold in colour. Maria looked down at herself, to see that her spines and fur were entirely blue.  
  
The torch had been passed. Now Maria knew what she had to do.  
  
"In the words of my grandfather," She said, "Let's rumble!"  
  
* * * *  
  
Epilogue- Reunion  
  
Some time later  
  
Maria stood on top of a building, gazing over the lights of the Emerald Hill City. Robotnik was taking over once again, just as he had back in 1993. Sighing, she looked down at the safe house where she and the others were staying. Her brother and their friends were inside, getting ready for a raid on the Chemical Plant Zone, which had mysteriously started operating again.  
  
Maria had never expected them to turn to her as leader.  
  
"I never was much of a leader." Maria looked over the city again. "I'll just have to become one."  
  
Tails stood in a doorway nearby, his arm still in a sling from the battle.  
  
"She's got her work cut out…" He said as he looked at the young hedgehog. "They all have. It's gonna be even harder to beat Robotnik this time."  
  
"They'll find a way," Said a voice from behind. "As always." Tails recognised the voice, even after eleven years.  
  
"Sonic…?" Tails said incredulously.  
  
"It's been a while, old buddy," said Maria's grandfather, stepping out of the shadows. Sonic was mainly grey now, but his eyes were still vivid green. "I heard about what happened. I would have got here sooner, but…" He grinned, "What can I say? Trains are slow."  
  
"Huh, I bet you were riding on the roof of the carriage."  
  
"You know me too well," Sonic laughed.  
  
"But where have you been all these years?" Tails asked. "We all thought you were dead." Sonic became suddenly serious.  
  
"I… I guess I just wanted to get my head together. I felt useless- I wasn't needed anymore, and now that I am I'm too old to make a difference."  
  
"The years have caught up with all of us," Tails said gently, seeing how difficult that had been for Sonic to admit.  
  
"We can't turn back time," Sonic agreed. He glanced at the bandage on Tails' arm. "But that didn't stop you from trying, did it? "  
  
"Huh, you'd have done the same thing."  
  
"'Course I would, pixel brain." replied Sonic. He looked up at his granddaughter, whose silhouette was almost identical to his own. "I never thought about getting old when I was Maria's age…I never expected to live this long." At that moment, Red came out from the safe house and called to his sister, who leaped down from the building.  
  
"She looks just like you," Tails said. "Has your powers, too."  
  
"Yeah," Sonic nodded. He glanced at Red, who was talking to his sister. "And Red… I haven't seen that face in a while. We'll have to keep an eye on him."  
  
"Ready to kick some badnik tail?" the yellow hedgehog was saying eagerly, as always ready for a fight.  
  
"They've got a lot to learn," Sonic said, remembering when he was their age. Tails was thinking the same thing.  
  
"Maybe it'll be easier if you're around to teach them."  
  
"Huh?" Sonic thought about it. He had disappeared all those years ago because he couldn't face the thought that he was getting old, and didn't want people to see how helpless he had become. It was a matter of pride. But no one knew more about fighting Robotnik than he did. Perhaps he could still have a purpose… "I suppose if I helped train them, I wouldn't feel so useless anymore," He said. "Even if I can't fight, I'd be helping to get my family back."  
  
"Right!" Tails beamed. "Those kids have an advantage we didn't have when we started fighting Robotnik." The two old friends looked at each other.  
  
"They're not alone," Sonic said quietly. Tails nodded as Blade, Gina and Ivory piled out of the doorway, prepared for another mission.  
  
Maria and Red looked over at their friends. They were Mobius' last hope, it was them against the world. Tails waved to them from across the street.  
  
"Hey kids, come over here. There's someone I want you to meet…"  
  
Suddenly, those odds didn't seem so bad.  
  
The End. 


End file.
